Structural unit



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c. w. ALLEN STRUCTURAL UNIT Filed July 22, 1936 PI! III II IIIIIIII I Dec. 24, 1940.

.IIIIIIIIIIIIIIl-IIII -II II II III I... III III! r HH IY IHHHHJ 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 C. w. ALLEN STRUCTURAL UNIT Filed July 22, 1936 FII I I l I Patented Dec. 24, 1940 7 v I STRUCTURAL UNIT Charles W. Allen, MemphiaTennl r v Application-T lly 22; 19s, SerialNo. 91,959

acclaim." (o1. 2o-o. s)f I i i in my pending application" above; referred to, A I

My invention relates to improvements inthe 7 art of utilization of wood, and particularly'to means and methods whereby it has been found possible to use small pieces of wood in efiective i :5 manner in building operations, so thata great I v 'deal oi' the waste formerly thought unavoidable I has been obviated. By the use of such expedients as are disclosed herein and in 'myco-pending applicationNo. 591,292, filed Feb. 6, 1932 (now Patent No. 2,087,958), and towhich reference may be had for fuller discussions'of the advantage's had and the difllculties avoided by the use 01 my invention, it is'possible to use wood that would otherwise be wasted, as by reason 01 Q15 the smallness of the pieces and because it occurs in the same piece with unsound wood or wood "of inferior character. I I I One of-"the main problems arisingfin the use. 1 3 v of'wood'in buildingsand the like arises out. of 20 the fact that moisture is boundtov be absorbed by wood from the air and from surrounding or contacting materials that, are damp or wet. This causesthe wood to expand withgreat force, such that curling fnd warping' andthe' bulging of y:g5"-fioors, etc.',-willinevitably follow the contraction f' and expansion-that follow upon changes'in the humidity of the surroundings-,- regardless of the strength of the glue, nails, etc., that may be :usedi in an. effort to prevent such undesirable effects. v I It is an object of my invention to fasten the parts securely 'in place, yet with suflicient space or -fclearance' between parts as to permit the neces- I sary expansion and to prevent buckling. I

' In the handling or sn'iallpieces anotherdis- 35- advantage. resides inIthe-amount-of time that 'is-required to assemble'them in connection with .a building operation; andit ls aniobject of my I 'inventionlto provide convenient and ,"desirable" r. Zfmeans whereby the small pieces-maybe assem;

'4 bled in the factory into units of "substantial size, ;whereby' these units may be shipped without I fdangero! coming apart and whereby they may 5 he laid rapidl'yin a desired arrangement, e, -g.;'

-' .to 'form a floor or the like,

small blocks of wood, usually laid in such manner that thegrain'oi the wood is verticaL-whereby v the wearing foogreatly, over thesituation where the grain runs I parallel to the surfaceof the fioor. II

; I "For' assembling and. holding together a number of small blocks or other suitable pieces in'units I that can be laidrapidly it. is my intention to 1 fuse: splines of novel characten-such as disclosed 1 Fig. 10, aside elevation ofthe same form,

' in section,

"section of the unit, I

A specific purpose or my inventionisto' faciliqualitiesof the iloor are increased I flooring which may be made according to, my; jinvention and which may obviously be: laid asfl; j sections of afloor or may constitute a complete fioor, according to the, building conditionsjand and it is another specific object of the present application to disclose and-providenovel and improved splines suitable for the purposes set forth. Another object of theinvention lsto provide and disclose expansion stripsof'acharacter suit I 'able to cooperate with-units of the character describedherein, which expansion strips guide I the direction of expansionand serve. to control the same, as, hereinafter explained. V

Other objects and: advantages of-the invention 1 will be apparent to thoseIskilled in thegartfrom the detailed description hereinafter appearing, I taken. in conjunction with theannexed' drawings l which are made a part of this'applicatio'n, and

in which Fig. 1 is a perspective of a block such asrna'y i be used in the practiceofmy invention,

Fig. 2, a perspective of another form of block, Figs. 3 to 5, further modifications, I

Fig. 6, a structural unit including 1ks r wood such as those of Fig. 5, v 7 g Fig. 7, a side elevation of Fig. 6,,

Fig. 8, an end elevation of the same,

tural unit such as that of- Fig. 6,

3 Fig.9, a top planof another form of structural unit, V 30 that may be used-to unite the parts of a struc- Fig. 11,anende1evation thereof, Fig. 12, a perspective of a spline of modified Fig. 13, another modification, .Figs. 14 and 15, furthenmodifications shown.

Fig. 16, atop plan of another structural unit, Fig.,17, a side elevation of the same, Fig.'18,'-an end elevation thereof, I Fig l9, an end levation .of an 'ntermediate'.

Fig. 20, a top plan oi another structuralunit, I Fig. 21, a side'elevation or the same,

Fig. 22, an: end elevation thereof I Fig. 23, a perspective of ablo'ck of modified- Fig. 24, a' top plan ofa section of flooring, and

Figs. '25yand 26, top 'plansoff other forms or the $280! rooms, etc.- H V a 7 1n' the drawings, reference-characters 3!), 3i,

. Figs. 7a, 7b, and 7c,- ende'levat'ionsof splines I 32, 33 and 34 (Figs. 1 to 5) indicate blockssuch as may be laid after the'general manner indicated in Fig. 6, it being understood that many variations in the design of the floor, as well as in the shape and size of the blocks, etc., may be utilized within the scope of the invention. It will be seen that block 30 has parallel keyhole slots at opposite sides of the block, the pairs of slots being indicated by reference characters 35, 35 and 36, 36, and being of like dimensions but one pair being in a dliferent plane from the other pair. The top and bottom of this block are smooth and unslotted and the block is preferably formed with the grain running vertically of the block.

Block u is generally similar to block so, but

instead of having pairs of slots at the same level the slots are arranged stepwise around the block, each slot being at a different level from those in adjacent sides and at a diflerent level from that at the opposite side of the block. Note the ascending series 31, 38, 38, 40.

In block 32 the slots are arranged in pairs intersecting the upper and lower faces of the block, the slots 4| and 42 crossing at right angles in the top face and slots 43 and 44 crossing similarly in the bottom of the block. Slots 42 and 43 lie in the same plane, as do also slots 4| and 44, and slots 42 and 44 are deeper than the others for reasons that will appear hereinafter. This block is intended for use in locations where the block will be covered with asphalt or the like, but may also be used without covering like the other blocks, in which case the neck of the slot will be filled with plastic wood or the like after being laid, so as to give the appearance of a solid block. Or the keyhole slot may be filled with plastic material just prior to insertion of the splines hereinafter described, whereby the splines will force out the excess material, leaving the necks full of material which soon hardens and affords the appearance of a solid block.

Block 33 has a plain top and has two side slots 48 and 48 at the same level, though they may be at diflerent levels. this block also having a bottom keyhole slot at 41.

Block I4 has a slot at one side as shown at 48, a pair of slots in opposite sides at a lower level. the slot 48 being of larger size than slot 50, another pair of slots in the other two sides at a lower level than slots 49 and 50, the slot SI of this last-named pair being larger than slot 52, and a slot 53 at the lowest level and directly below slot 50, the top and bottom of this block being plain.

As explained in my patent above referred to, there are important manufacturing advantages in the use of a keyhole slot for structural wood items of various kinds. The blocks so far referred to may be united by splines such as illustrated in that application, but I have also shown other forms that can be used and that are advantaeous in certain situations.

Figs. 6 to 8 illustrate a unit of flooring (or which can also be used for other purposes) consisting of blocks 34 combined with blocks 54 having pairs of parallel slots in opposite sides. As shown, the blocks are united into a unit by means of splines of material that does not absorb moisture, the splines fitting snugly in the slots, though not so tight as to interfere unduly with the operation of assembling the units. The splines are of what I call a "dumb-bell shape, and comprise small splines 55 and large ones 56, in accordance with the size of the keyhole slot in which the spline is to be located.

Splines of modified form are shown in Figs. 7a. 7b and 7c, spline 51 being a resilient sheet metal spline of a type shown in my co-pending patent; spline 58 being similar but not interrupted, as spline 51 is at 51'; while the spline of Fig. consists of three parts of which the end members I9, 59 are tubes with a rod or bar inserted between them to fill the necks of the slots. Obviously the dumb-bell splines such as 55 and 56 serve to unite the blocks into strips and the strips into a wider unit, such as that of Fig. 6, while the spline of Fig. 7c serves to unite the blocks into a strip only, the bar filling the necks of a pair of adioining slots, or it may be narrow so as to fill only a neck as at the left of Fig. 8, if desired.

Figs. 9 to 11 illustrate methods and means for uniting blocks or strips of material thinner than those just described. The blocks or strips or pieces 6| may be so thin as to permit the forming only of a single set of keyhole slots of slight depth in the bottom and other keyhole slots in the side and edge faces. As here shown a unit consists of four pieces each having a pair of slots at the bottom for receiving splines 62 of the simple form illustrated in my co-pending patent. At the ends of the pieces (1. e., at the sides of the unit) deeper slots are provided which may receive dumb-bell splines, but are here shown as receiving splines 83, 63' with a rigid tongue of a shape approaching the square and adapted to fit into a shallow U-shaped slot such as shown at 63a, this slot being formed in an adjoining member or unit. The shape of the tongue may be varied to suit the slot that can be made conveniently in the adjoining member, e. g.: such a tongue can be used as shown on spline 51 (Fig. 7a). At its ends the unit is shown as being united to other units by means of splines 64 of a solid dumb-bell shape.

Figs. 12 to 15 illustrate modified forms of splines such as may be used where preferred. The splines of Figs. 12 and 13 are adjustable in width. For this purpose the spline of Fig. 12 consists of three parts, two of which are bent into cylindrical form with parallel tongues spaced apart to receive a flat slip 66 of metal connected to the tongues by rivets 81 placed in holes in the tongues and passing through elongated slots 68 in the slips, as indicated by dotted lines. In the case of Fig. 13, the

one member I! is like'the side members of the as to yield in assembling and to spring out .to hold the parts connected thereby securely in the desired relation, and they are spaced apart by a flat rod 14, which obviously may be inserted at the same time with the members 13, or subsequently.

The spline of Fig. 15 is similar to that of Fig. 70, except that it consists of two solid round bars 15, I5 and a solid flat bar 16.

In Figs. 16 to 19 I have shown a modification wherein a series of pieces 11 is connected by means of simple splines 18 inserted into keyhole slots in the bottom and resilient splines 19 at the edges, said splines having flat-sided tongues, while the unit so formed is or may be connected to adjoining units by means of resilient dumb-bell splines HI, all slots being keyhole slots, as before. It will ple, in using blocks of 40 sisting of seven strips 84' determined in like manner.

he understood that all splines are made of metal,

. or; at least of non-moisture-absorbing material,

" in the preferred forms and uses-of my invention,.

inorder that the, movementof the pieces of wood due to swelling upon absorption of water anddue to contraction upon drying may not be interfered fjw In Figs. 20 to 23 I 8| and the blocks in each row haveshown a unit made upof small blocks of no great thickness, the rows of blocks. being connected by dumb-bell splines being similarly connected. Here the blocks are formed with two sets of slots, the oppositely located slots 82, 82

being at one level and the oppositely located slots '83 ,83 being at another level. As in all other cases ,the slots are. so placed as to permit a plane to be 1 passed between the vertically spaced series withv shaped slots, excepting in 20 face must be of some 1 62 in Fig. 11. Keyhole slots may be made in the 'bottom of the unit, as at may ,be inserted therein either lengthwise of the considerable, since it has splines are used of floors, etc. that out cutting the the case of block 32, where the spline most remotefrom the adjacent such' simple form as spline 84 in Fig. 21," and splines unit or crosswise thereof to strengthen it. I The advantage of such combinations of splines is very been found that where only at the bottom the unit may bemade to buckle much more easily than where two or more sets of splines are used. For examthe type shown in Fig. 4, twice as much pressure is required to buckle a ,unit having its parts connected by splines at the bottom and sides as is needed when the parts are connected only at the bottom.

Figs. 24 to 26 illustrate a few of many designs may, be made up by the use of my invention, .in combination with expansion strips now to be described. In Fig. 24, e. g., there are sh own a plurality of units or blocks each conof wood which are connected by means of splines as above described.

' strip 84', in the case such as 'to predetermine the, marginal members consisting of diagonally arranged strips vbined into units permitting them to expand freely. to a limited extent such as is necessary to take care. of the natural expansion and contraction due to changing temperatures and humidity in the atmosphere, or to moisture rising from the foundation,- etc. These units are spaced apart by expansion strips or spacers 85. laid in a sort of zigzag pat-' the expansion strips is I tern, and the length of the space allowed for expansion of the strips 84' of the adjoining units, assuming that each strip iSiWVO inches wide and that a space of inches plus n 5, inch. or a total of 145-; inches long, plus an amount totake care of the width of an abutting spacer and the length of an adjacent as 85. The length of the marginal strips 86 is The design in Fig. 25 has expansion members 81 extending the full length of the floor inside for separating parts each 81' comand interspersed with unitsconsisting of stripsill" extending parallel to the spacers 81. The spacers determine the expansion. space for the units and their constituent parts and serve as guiding means in laying the floor, etc, and as pattern-forming means. There is a double series of marginal members 88, 89, 90 and 9 In Fig. 26 the units consist of three strips each, assembled and connected asabove described, the

enlarged parts of the keyhole n inchis allowed between them for ex ansion. the'spacers 85 will be '7 x 2 of a full-length spacer such while those running transversely thereof are marked 93. The units are arranged in groups of four units other' two, as to their constituent strips. such group is surrounded by spacers or expansion of which two are at rightangles to the Each strips 92', 93',each laidwith a faceagainst the s.

end of another spacer andits other end against the face of the next spacer. Thus it will be seen that no strip 92, 93 or spacer 92', 93"1ies with its end against theend of another like'member (differing in this respect from Fig. 2'5), but ala manner, the ends of members 96,91 lying against side faces of members 98, 99 and the end'of member 98 lying against'a side' face of member 81, etc. X 1

In the case of small wooden blocks such as herein referred to, they can easily be assembled at the factory, after cutting, having a length of six feet, for example, and these rows can be connected into units of a width of three feet, for example, and all this work can be done mechanically, thus saving a great deal of time in laying a floor or the like. These as,- semblies are of course means of the splines equivalent means. No great strength'is required into an assembly r to be secured together by a I herein described, or other.

in the splines, as they are not relied on to take,

the place of nails in securing the parts rigidly to the foundation, but the partsare all free to move within limited bounds, it being the primary purpose of the invention to'permit free'limited expansion tothe necessary extent, and to divide the expansion, or control it, so that the effect. will distribute itself over the entire area of a floor instead of being confined to some small area where expansion is excessive, and thus to cause buckling at such area. The invention is not'limited to the use'of any particuar number of splines'or systems of splines, as thicker members may be connected by greater numbers of systems than here illustrated. It is, however, desirable that the series should be separated by definite 7 not interfere with each other and so that correct adjustment may be had, the accuracy of adjustment being much increased by two sets of splines as compared with a single set. Generally speakplanes so that the splines may i ing, the size of the keyhole slots is of importance 5 only in that largerv splines cause more friction than smaller ones and 'are objectionable for that reason. All that is necessary is that the splines shall be readily insertible and strong enough to hold the units while being handled.

It will be obvious to" those skilled in the art that many other variations may be made inthe -details and applications of my invention in addition to what is abovev disclosed, all without departing from the spirit of the invention; therefore I do not limit myself to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim is:

1. A structural top and bottom faces,

piece of wood having parallel said piece having'in' each of said faces a pair of keyhole slots, the necks of said slots cutting the adjacent face and intersecting each other, and the bores of said slots being parallel to'the adjacent face but differently spaced therefrom. 7

iii

and comprising a flat bar interposed between a pair of separate resilient metallic members each flaring outwardly at its edges beyond said bar.

4. A device as in claim 2, said unit having keyhole slots in its bottom and in opposite sides thereof and having splines in said slots.

5. A device as in claim 2, said unit having keyhole slots in its bottom, its sides and its ends, and having splines in said slots.

6. A device as in claim 2, said unit having keyhole slots in its bottom, its sides and its ends, and having splines in said slots, the slots in its sides and ends lying in closely adjacent planes.

7. A device as in claim 2, including splines having a rigid parallel-sided tongue rounded at its outer end to fit in a shallow U-shaped groove in an adjoining unit.

8. For use in assembling pieces of wood having keyhole slots in their adjacent faces, a spline of dumbbell shape so constructed as to be adjustable in width, said spline comprising a pair of cylindrical longitudinal members, a tongue on each of said members, and means connecting said tongues adjustably, whereby the width of the spline may be adjusted.

9. For use in assembling pieces of wood having keyhole slots in their adjacent faces, a spline of dumbbell shape so constructed as to be adjustable in width, said spline comprising a pair of tubular members with longitudinally extending tongues protruding therefrom, the tongue on one of said members overlapping the other tongue, and pins on one tongue extending through holes in the other tongue, said holes being elongated laterally of said spline. I

10. For use in assembling pieces of wood having keyhole slots in their adjacent faces, a spline of dumbbell shape so constructed as to be adjustable in width, said spline comprising a pair of sheet metal members shaped to provide a tube with a protruding tongue along a side thereof, a strip of metal contacting with said tongues and having slots extending crosswise of said spline, and pins on said tongue extending through said slots, whereby said spline may be adjusted in width,

CHARLES W. ALLEN. 

